Davenport Can't Handle Fernandez This Time

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Mary Joe Fernandez and Lindsay Davenport quickly shook hands at the net and quietly walked off the court, side by side but no longer best friends.

Now they're merely foes, and Monday's match at the Lipton Championships did little to soothe hard feelings between two of the nicest players on the WTA Tour.

Fernandez beat Davenport, 6-2, 6-4, in Monday's fourth round of the Lipton Championships. In years past, the match would have ended with a hug and even tears, but that was before their doubles partnership dissolved amid animosity.

"I guess you could say we're trying to work some things out," said Fernandez, who avenged a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Davenport at Indian Wells earlier this month.

Fernandez, seeded 10th, advances to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Martina Hingis, who improved to 23-0 this year by beating Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.